Wednesday, February 29, 2012

A WESTERN VIEW OF THE TRADE DEADLINE

Winners, losers, and everyone in between. It’s hard to properly evaluate what the trade
deadline actually means in such a short timeframe, but that doesn’t mean it
isn’t a hockey fan’s favorite hobby the next few days after.

It certainly wasn’t a frenetic day around the NHL, but of the 15 deals, 31
players, and 11 draft picks that moved around, there were some points of
interest in the West.

It was interesting to see the Dallas Stars do nothing. Pegged as a seller two weeks ago, the Stars
were simply playing too well to do anything drastic. Mike Ribeiro may be playing the best hockey
of his career, and a rumored package of Mason Raymond plus clearly wasn’t
enough to pry away Steve Ott.

Colorado, winners of four straight, dealt away
Dan Winnik and TJ Galiardi to San Jose. This is a big win for the Sharks, who have
struggled with effective bottom-six depth all season. Winnik is underrated as a shutdown guy, and
will be tough to stop down low paired with Michael Handzus. Galiardi meanwhile, could be the hidden gem
of this deal. He can skate, shoot, is
underratedly tough, and has an offensive upside that Joe Sacco wasn’t able to
harness in Colorado. From the Avalanche point of view, they don’t
really take a backwards step, as they had 15 healthy forwards going in, and
added some size, in Jamie McGinn.

As Peter Loubardias pointed out yesterday, the much talked-about Zack Kassian
for Cody Hodgson swap could wind up working for both teams. If I had to give one thumbs up though, it
would be to the Sabres. Kassian is a
pretty unique specimen, but Hodgson is going to play in multiple all-star games
for the Sabres. They touched a guy that
could have easily have had an “untouchable” label.

-The Calgary Flames did nothing, which comes as no surprise if you’re paying
attention. Everyone of note has no trade
clauses, a bit of a parting gift from former GM Darryl Sutter. The list of “availables” meanwhile, read like
the bin of used VHS tapes at the local convenience store. Jay Feaster had no options at his disposable,
which unfortunately for him, certainly re-fixed the spotlight on Thursday’s
impassioned rant.

-You have to like the deal between the Wild and Oilers. In the span of six months, the Wild switched
out stalwarts Brent Burns, 700-game Nick Schultz, Greg Zanon, and Marek
Zidlicky. Evidently, “going in a new
direction” with the blueline was a pretty important goal. They add Tom Gilbert from the Oilers, who can
play more of a two way game than anyone they have. Edmonton
meanwhile, gets a bit stronger defensively, and also allows for a bigger role
for Jeff Petry, who is fast becoming the least talked about, solid blueliner
in the West.

- Things go from bad to possibly worse for the Columbus Blue Jackets, as Scott
Howson elected not to deal away Rick Nash, and subsequently exposed his trade
request to the NHL, his teammates, and the fans. If Nash wants to pick his landing place, he
had best find some inner motivation for the final 20 games. Meanwhile, good on Howson for not panicking. The rumored final offer from the Rangers of
Dubinsky, Erixon, Thomas, Miller, and a first was more than decent, but didn’t
quite have that “it” factor. When 29
teams are without a Stanley Cup this July, Howson will get the deal he wants.

-You have to root for the Nashville Predators this playoff season. They locked up Pekka Rinne, got Shea Weber
under contract for another year, and elected to hang onto Ryan Suter for a
run. Mike Fisher and Sergei Kostitsyn
have worked out nicely, and adding Hal Gill, Paul Gaustad, and brother Andrei
sets a huge tone for the months ahead.
David Poile has put his club in a great position, and now it’s on the
players. Going one season without
top-flight draft picks is a good gamble to take at this point in the franchise.

No Surprise to see the Kings and Blues quiet. St. Louis
is pretty hamstrung when to anything major at the moment with financial issues,
and quite frankly, they’re playing such a perfect system right now, why mess
with it? The Kings meanwhile, have
plenty of eggs in the Jeff Carter basket, and will need to figure things out,
and fast, if they hope to crack the top-eight.